The office of Premier of the Soviet Union (Russian: Глава Правительства СССР) was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Four individuals have been premier. One of the four premiers died in office of natural causes (Vladimir Lenin), one was deposed (Joseph Stalin), and two held the offices of party leader and premier simultaneously (Lenin and Stalin). The first premier was Lenin, who was inaugurated in 1922 after the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR. The final premier was Stalin, who was removed from power after the fall of Moscow in 1942.

The Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) was established on November 8, 1917 by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) Government. Article 38 of the 1924 Soviet Constitution stated that the Council's powers, functions and duties were given to it by the Central Executive Committee (CEC) which supervised the Council's work and legislative acts. The Council of People's Commissars published decrees and decisions that were binding throughout the Soviet Union.